San Francisco 49ers' Alex Smith still not throwing deep

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Deep passes are still not Alex Smith's strong suit, even with the 49ers' restocked corps of speedy wideouts.

Smith has attempted only four passes of at least 20 yards, second fewest among NFL starting quarterbacks, according to ProFootballFocus.com.

Smith could be tempted to air it out Sunday against a New York Jets secondary that's lost All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis to a season-ending knee injury.

"Don't know what to expect," Smith said of the Jets' revised, Revis-free schemes. "There's the unknown right there."

One of those 49ers' newcomers, Mario Manningham, knows their pass offense hasn't flourished with Smith during a 2-1 start to this high-expectations season.

"We're not fully on the same page like we want to be -- me and him, or him and the other wideouts," Manningham said. "But I feel like we're getting there."

Manningham's longest catch of the season was a 22-yard effort to open the 49ers' final drive of Sunday's 24-13 loss at Minnesota. One snap later, Smith was sacked and lost a fumble to kill the comeback.

Jets coach Rex Ryan is convinced the 49ers have the talent to go deep, and he read off that "long list" of options with a sense of genuine admiration during his conference call with Bay Area media.

"You've got Ted Ginn, you've got Manningham, you've got Randy Moss, oh-by-the-way (Michael) Crabtree, and you have the most explosive tight end in football? Yeah you can throw the ball down field," Ryan said.

That tight end, Vernon Davis, has four touchdown catches this season, and although Sunday's was a 1-yard score, it immediately followed a 20-yard reception by Davis.

Getting the ball past that 20-yard mark remains a familiar barrier.

Added Ryan: "People are probably smart and say, 'Let's not give them throws down the field and make them throw it underneath.' You'd rather give up a single than a home run."

That is a major factor why Smith went 249 consecutive passes without an interception before an errant, 18-yard pass sailed into enemy hands Sunday in Minnesota.

Smith is averaging almost the same yards-per-attempt as last season: 7.0 this season, 7.1 in 2011. He's completed 3 of 4 attempts of at least 20 yards, for 63 total yards. Only the Buffalo Bills' Ryan Fitzpatrick has gone deep fewer times (1 of 3, 30 yards), according to ProFootballFocus.com.

"Looking back on Sunday, could we have taken more shots? For sure," Smith said. "But in hindsight it's so easy to say. When you're in the heat of the game, you're just trying to score, just trying to move the chains and do whatever it takes."

It took more than 13 points to beat the Vikings, who kept safeties deep and invited Smith to throw short passes all day.

Ryan also thinks Smith is "much more talented than the national perception he gets credit for. ... I was hoping he wasn't as good as he is."

Just how different were Harbaugh and Ryan in their conference calls with opposing-teams' media? Each fielded about 10 questions, and while Harbaugh confined his answers to 309 words, Ryan easily doubled that.

Harbaugh's response when asked by New York media about the officiating in the Seahawks-Packers game: "You know, that's something coaches aren't in the position to talk about. It feels really disrespectful being asked that question."

Ryan, meanwhile, doled out a slew of respect in singling out most 49ers starters. Ryan called Davis the league's best tight end, Anthony Davis a Pro Bowl-caliber right tackle and Justin Smith the NFL's premier interior defensive lineman. Ryan also hailed the 49ers' offensive and defensive coordinators, Greg Roman and Vic Fangio, both of whom he worked with on the Baltimore Ravens staff in 2006-07.

Ryan shared a humorous tale in which he mistook Alex Smith for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a brief chat before the "NFL Honors" ceremony in February.

"I went, 'Good luck tonight' and had a 30-second conversation with him," Ryan recalled. "Then later I walked out and said, 'Wait a second, there's Aaron Rodgers, and that must be Alex Smith.' I felt so bad."

Attending the 49ers' rain-soaked practice at Youngstown State was the football team from 49ers CEO Jed York's nearby alma mater, Cardinal Mooney High. The 49ers also held a morning walk-through on familiar turf: in the parking lot behind their Boardman hotel. Harbaugh loved that site in last year's visit, in part because of it's tree-lined confines, which he's made more private by forming a four-bus blockade on the perimeter.

Nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga did not practice because of injuries to his left knee and ankle. While teammates warmed up, Sopoaga walked around the Youngstown State turf without a severe limp.

Running back Brandon Jacobs practiced for the first time since sustaining a left-knee injury Aug. 18. Jacobs was limited, as was wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr., who hasn't played this season because of a right-leg injury.